Bridge
by Cheeseburger of Doom
Summary: They meet on the last friday of every month, and have since high school ended. Some things have changed, but not the most important one. [sanayuki]


Sanada had waited at the same bridge on the last Friday of every month since the end of high school. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered; it had been years since then, and everything had changed. He couldn't go back to those days, so there was no use holding on -- but those thoughts were always banished when the other party appeared, with a smile on his face.

"Genichirou! You came today!"

Sanada always came to the bridge, and always waited for Yukimura no matter how late he was. Yukimura was a busy man; so was Sanada. There was hardly any time for anything in his life, but there was always time to go to the bridge.

"I'm sorry I took so long." Yukimura always apologized for being late, and he was almost always late; it was always due to traffic, or being held at the office -- there was always a reason. Sanada wondered if Yukimura even cared to be there at all.

"How has this month been for you?" Yukimura asked, as they began to walk. Sometimes they went to a movie, sometimes they went for dinner -- sometimes they did both. Once in a while Yukimura had tickets to a play, or Sanada had tickets to some kind of game. It didn't matter what it was, as long as Sanada could spend time with Yukimura Seiichi.

"Same as always," Sanada replied. "You?"

"Well…I broke up with my girlfriend." Yukimura made a face. "It wasn't pleasant. I don't really want to talk about it, though."

"No." Sanada stifled a sigh of relief. The bitch Yukimura had been seeing for almost a year wasn't even worth a second of his time -- and she was finally out of the picture. Not that it made a difference, really -- but it made him feel better just the same.

"Where are we going today?" Yukimura asked.

"I found a restaurant you might like. I'll take you for dinner."

"That sounds nice, but you don't have to pay for me."

"I want to."

The restaurant was a very quiet and attractive little place; it was also outrageously expensive, but Sanada had wanted to bring Yukimura here for quite some time. It was perfect for him. Sanada loved to see him surrounded by beautiful things -- but he would never admit to being sentimental, or sappy, or anything like that.

"This is nice," Yukimura said, looking around. "You always know just what I'll like."

Sanada had known him for years after all; had adored him for years, though he'd never spoken that aloud. "I try."

"You still talk so little. You've always been like that, speaking only when you need to." Yukimura smiled. "At least you don't wear the baseball cap anymore."

Sanada still had that cap, in a box in his closet. He couldn't get rid of it. He didn't say that, though -- he didn't want to be teased. "You haven't changed much, either."

Yukimura was older, and he had a love of life that he'd adopted after having surgery which made him do things he never would have considered before -- but he was still the same kind, beautiful person that he'd always been.

"I've changed enough," Yukimura said. "I feel old, sometimes."

Yukimura would never be old, at least not in spirit. Sanada resisted the urge to bash his head on the table -- Yukimura would know for sure he was thinking something odd if he started to punish himself for it.

The problem wasn't the thoughts themselves; the problem was that he couldn't speak them out loud, and express himself. He hadn't been able to for years, and he was sure that he would never be able to, and Yukimura would never know how much he cared. Yukimura would stop meeting him at the bridge someday, and they would never see each other again, and Sanada would die alone. He didn't want anyone but Yukimura --

"When are you going to get married, Genichirou? You seem so lonely."

"I have no one to marry." Sanada didn't like that sudden question; didn't like having to try and think of an answer that would satisfy Yukimura. "You're not married, either."

"I thought I would be by now." Yukimura sighed. "After an entire year…well, I said I wouldn't talk about it. I'm sure you'd be bored."

"Talk if you want to."

"She said that I don't care about her," Yukimura said. "How could I not? It's been a year after all. I mean, that's what I thought for a few days, but…I think she was right. I really didn't care about her enough."

What could Sanada say to that? Not much. He could say that he knew what real love felt like and had for years -- but he had sworn never to say that.

"After all, it's been a lot longer than one year between us, hasn't it?"

Sanada looked up, looked at Yukimura -- and realized that he was a complete fool. Maybe he should have admitted how he felt a long time ago; maybe he'd have been saved a lot of pain.

"It's been a long time," he agreed.

"As long as you wait at that bridge, I'll always meet you there," Yukimura said, "But I wish you'd just stay with me, so I don't have to wait until the end of the month."

Sanada couldn't make himself speak; he couldn't make himself reply --

"If you don't want to, then I understand. Maybe it's time for us to say goodbye --"

"No." It was barely more than a whisper, but Yukimura heard. The disappointed look left his face, and he smiled, a brilliant smile that Sanada loved so much -- "No, I don't want to say goodbye."

"Will you stay with me?"

Sanada rarely knew what to say; he was horrible with words, horrible at expressing himself -- but this time, he knew.

"Always."


End file.
